The August drought of album releases is coming to a close. This week’s Viva la Mix is about the death of summer and the rebirth of new albums come September. So give your fingers a little warm-up stretch and get ready to “Right Click, Save Link As,” because after the jump we present 14 essential downloads from our latest Viva Radio show that we consider required listening at Flavorpill HQ. Enjoy!

2. Raekwon – “House of Flying Daggers” [ft. Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, and Method Man]
Raekwon, of Wu Tang Clan Fame, is back. For those who missed the opening line, it’s “I pop off like a mobster boss/ Angel hair with the lobster sauce!” Yes, this track is fierce and aggressive. The “Wu” chant later in the song corroborates this fact.
[Download Now] via East of LA

3. Wild Beasts – “All the King’s Men” The single from their impending sophomore release, Two Dancers, out September 8th. Describing their upcoming record, Wild Beast calls it “a series of scenes … a big party, the street outside later on, or in a bedroom, or desperately hungry and starving to death on a distant beach.” We’re guessing this one falls into the “the street outside later on” category.
[Download Now] via Stereogum

9. Sondre Lerche – “Good Luck”Sondre explains the song as a “consolation for those who found themselves more seriously out of luck, and at the same time curse the idea that luck is related to some universal justice.” The track begins with an innocent twinkling guitar line, climaxing in a wild and jarring string arrangement, perfectly suiting the latter half of Lerche’s description.
[Download Now] via Brooklyn Vegan

11. Banjo or Freakout – “Upside Down”The video for this song features a posse of costumed people – man in a chicken suit, police officer, soldier, large man painted blue, etc – jumping into the ocean in slow motion. Then a beautiful blond girl switches the camera’s focus onto her. That’s what this song sounds like.
[Download Now] via Stereogum

13. Broken Social Scene – “Love Will Tear Us Apart” Recorded for The Time Traveler’s Wife soundtrack, BSS gives us a slow, significantly less uppity cover of the Joy Division classic.
[Download Now] via The Blisslist

14. The Antlers – “Epilogue”A poignant acoustic song from the band’s debut album, Hospice. The record has garnered much critical attention from both the big boys (Pitchfork) and the little guys (the blogosphere). Don’t be surprised to see this album topping everyone’s “Best of ’09” list.
[Download Now] via Radio Exile